5 Day Food Journal: No Gluten, Dairy, Sugar or Additives

Here's what's up: I've been working with a nutritionist to get rid of harmful inflammation in my body and gut! Basically, I got my blood tested for what foods I've developed sensitivities to: those that my immune system "attacks" and create toxins in my body. I cut those out, and now I'm on a diet change plan where I only eat "safe" foods that work with my body for 30 days. Eventually, the diet change re-acclimates me to foods I'm sensitive to.

Before I get into my food journal, I want to make it clear that I am not on a "diet." Rather, I'm taking initiative to be well: to utilize meals to give my body what it needs. I'm using my food in service of creating a vibrant, healthy, life.  Never before have I realized how important it is to use food to nourish and energize yourself, to be intentional in what you eat, and to understand how what you put in your body affects how you feel. I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm trying to feel good!

When I was told not to eat gluten, dairy, or sugar, (among 70+ other things) and to be completely "clean" by eating only whole, unprocessed foods, I was nervous. I didn't know what I could eat. However nervous, I was excited to see what this change brought and to be creative with my meals. I've been feeling so much better. I like eating again because it doesn't make me feel horrible, and I have tons more energy. 

Here's a sample of 5 days worth of meals thus far, in case you need some new, healthy, clean options for any meal!

DAY ONE

breakfast: quinoa breakfast bar (made with gf oats) with raspberries, coffee

lunch: roasted carrots and sweet potatoes, chicken with Tamari, 1/2 banana, almonds

snack: sunflower seeds and crunchy chickpeas

dinner: toasted pb&j on oat bread with puffed millet and raspberries, sweet potatoes and avocado

snack: simple mills banana bread

DAY TWO

breakfast: smoothie with coconut water, raspberries, mango, and spinach; avocado toast on oat bread with carrots; coffee 

snack: almonds

lunch: salad with romaine, chicken, chickpeas, quinoa, cauliflower, sunflower seeds, liquid aminos; grapes; soy latte

dinner: soup with chicken broth, chicken, hot sauce, avocado, sauteed carrots; toasted oat bread

snack: mint tea and cashews

DAY THREE

breakfast: coffee, 1/2 banana and peanut butter with honey on toasted oat bread

lunch: 1/2 avocado, toasted oat bread, carrots and sweet potatoes, chicken, 1/2 apple

snack: almonds, 1/2 apple and 1/2 banana sautéed in coconut oil and coconut sugar

dinner: grilled chicken sandwich on oat bread with spinach/avocado/pickle, avocado oil potato chips, apple

dessert: coconut "ice cream"

DAY FOUR

breakfast: gluten free oatmeal and 1/2 apple with peanut butter, coffee

lunch: pb toast, coconut chips, sweet potato, chickpeas and avocado salad, grapes

snack: homemade avocado hummus & simple mills crackers

dinner: grilled steak with tamari, spinach salad with cucumbers and carrots

bedtime snack: green tea, tahini "cookie"

DAY FIVE

breakfast: 2 mango muffins, 1/2 banana, coffee

snack: crunchy chickpeas

lunch: 1/2 avocado, sweet potato, egg sunny-side up (of course)

snack: 1/2 banana and pb with coconut chips

dinner: frittata with spinach, potatoes, and chicken

snack: cashews, mint tea

stay sunny

meg

My Simple Morning Makeup Routine

I won't lie to you, I'm far from a makeup pro. On special events my friends do my makeup for me, I can't operate a Beauty Blender in the least, and I don't watch any type of Youtube tutorials. That said, I truly care about keeping my skin healthy, I think have a strong brow game, and I use makeup as a tool towards confidence. Do I go to school without makeup on sometimes? Of course. Do I shame people who spend 30 minutes doing their makeup every morning? Of course not!

I have a simple morning routine, mostly because I like to get as much sleep as possible :-) 

Every morning I use Glossier Face Wash on a Clarisonic to wash my face. I like the exfoliation of the Clarisonic to wake up my skin, along with the gentle face wash that smells like warm laundry and a field of wildflowers. If you order with this link, you can get 20% off your first order!

After that, I spritz with Mario Badescu Face Mist to help give my face a dewy look and eliminate any tightness. Plus, again, it smells amazing.

I smooth on Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue using the Bare Minerals Smoothing Brush. I don't like complete coverage, mostly because I'm partial to freckles, so using a tiny bit of this is perfect for me. On top of the face mist, it goes on evenly and adds a little glow to your skin.

Onto the eyes, I curl my eyelashes with Tarte Eyelash Curler. My eyelashes are naturally pretty straight, so this is essential for me: it's really difficult to put mascara on without it. Plus, the product lasts a really long time. I've had the same one for a few years. The mascara I usually use is Benefit Mascara or Elizabeth Moss, and apply that on my top lashes.

As I said, I like to keep my brow game strong. I use an Eyebrow Pencil that has a brush on one side and a brown pencil on the other. I lightly line the natural shape of my brow on the bottom, and just fill in wherever they're looking sparse.

That's it! It usually takes about 5-7 minutes.

                                                                                          

stay sunny

meg

Best of January

The other day, one of my readers sent in the question "what are your favorite posts to write?" I immediately thought of monthly recap posts. Not only are they fun to write, they're so fun to look back on-- almost like a scrapbook! They make me appreciate the happy times and little things of the past month, especially in a culture where we're always looking ahead to the next thing and trying to get the next task done. It made me realize how much I like doing these, and how I hadn't done one in a while, so I did for January. They can get wordy, so I decided to break it up into a "best of:" things I ate, saw, read, did, and bought.

BEST I ATE

1. dragonfruit bowl from Rooted Juicery- I decided to try this smoothie bowl because of the ingredients, but I loved it because of the color [insert heart eyes]
2. avocado toast- I made the MOST EPIC avocado toast EVER and shared it in this post
3. angry beekeeper from Old Scratch Pizza- My parents' friends opened a new pizza place near us, and ITS SO GOOD. I had the Angry Beekeeper which gets its name because it's drizzled in spicy honey (and I'm a sucker for anything with honey). #savethebees

BEST I SAW/READ

1. the lumineers- I got to see one of my favorite bands, The Lumineers, and it was everything I'd ever dreamed it'd be! I loved how they told tons of stories throughout the concert, played different instruments, and had a Cleopatra photobooth at the entrance.
2. lala land- In case you haven't heard... everyone ever should see Lala Land. I have the soundtrack on repeat!
3. milk & honey (here)- the most VSCO-able book ever. It's a heavy, deep read (and all poems), so if you're into that you'll love it. (or just buy it for the VSCO). (jk).

BEST I DID

1. went to the cincinnati contemporary arts center- something new I tried in January was going to a Contemporary Arts museum. I loved it! The top floor is an "un-museum," meaning everything is touch-able and interactive, including a giant fuzzy egg. I'm pretty sure it was for little children but the adults seemed to be having fun too :-)
2. painted this jacket (as seen here)- I followed a charcoal transfer tutorial to paint something sassy on a denim jacket.
3. the wedding- my friend Megan's dad got re-married on New Years Eve! (what a fun wedding date) & we had so much fun being on the dance floor when the ball dropped.

BEST NEW PURCHASES

1. glossier cleanser (here)- after hearing all the hype about Glossier, I decided to try their milky jelly cleanser. I like it a lot! It's pretty gentle so I use it in the mornings and use something stronger at night. The best part? It smells like flowers and clean laundry. Use this link to get 20% off your first purchase!
2. adidas originals sweatshirt (here)- I know this is literally just a gray hoodie, but it's super warm and it's been nice to throw on while studying or running errands.
3. himalayan salt lamp (here)- I'd always wanted a salt lamp, so I got one to put on my side table in my room. It's a nice little accent piece and the one I have works great with essential oils.

WHAT'S NEW & NOW

Recently, my bff Caroline and I were chosen to speak at TEDxDayton's youth conference. We've been super busy preparing our TED talk, but it's been SO FUN, guys.  I can't wait for it to be online for all of you to see! It's super close to my heart, all about empowering yourself through what you wear and allowing fashion to be a daily celebration of you!!

I also started a diet change to help with some chronic GI and inflammatory issues. It includes no sugar, wheat, or dairy... so we'll see how this goes! So far, I feel really good about it and I know it will be so worth it. More to come.

I hope you enjoyed this round-up of my January, and that February brings tons of sunshine to you all!

stay sunny

meg